China called Friday for stepped-up efforts to resume international dialogue on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program after the United States rejected an offer from the North to temporarily freeze nuclear tests in exchange for a halt to joint South Korea-U.S. military drills.
“Under the current circumstances, relevant parties should make joint efforts and come back to the track of dialogue and consultation to create favorable conditions for the resumption of six-party talks,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told reporters when asked about the U.S. refusal.
North Korea, which conducted its third and most powerful nuclear test in February 2013, has repeated calls for the immediate resumption of the six-nation disarmament-for-aid talks that have been dormant since late 2008.
North Korea has a track record of starting a crisis, coming to negotiations and reaching an agreement in exchange for economic and other concessions, then ditching the deal.
Mindful of the North’s behavior, South Korea and the U.S. are asking Pyongyang to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization through actions before the six-party talks can resume. Diplomatic efforts by China, North Korea’s long-time ally, have still been seen as more accommodating toward Pyongyang.
The six-party talks, launched in 2003, involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. point man on North Korea, will visit Japan and China next week for discussions with his counterparts over how to deal with Pyongyang. He visited South Korea earlier this month.
“We hope the relevant dialogue and contact can pave the way for an early resumption of six-party talks,” Hua said of Kim’s visit to China. (Yonhap)
